NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

JinRoz For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

drednm Born in Australia in 1858, May Robson certainly never envisioned as career in Hollywood films. She had a long career as a stage actress and appeared in about a dozen silent films, including CHICAGO with Phyllis Haver, and RUBBER TIRES with Bessie Love. Both film survive. She made her talkie debut in MOTHER'S MILLIONS in 1931 and appeared in another 50 films until her death in 1942.Oscar nominated for playing Apple Annie, she lost the award to Katharine Hepburn for MORNING GLORY. Robson should have won, but her role was really a supporting role in this film, based on a short story by Damon Runyon.As the irascible old apple peddler, Robson had the role of her career. Seems she has a daughter (Jean Parker) in Europe. The old lady gets mail at a swanky hotel thru a friend who works there. But when the letter comes that the daughter is coming home with a husband to be (and his father, a Spanish count), Annie is in trouble.Dave the Dude (Warren William) a gambler, won't make a bet without getting an apple from Annie as a good luck token. When she goes missing, the Dude sends out a search party, locates Annie, and learns of her plight. They hit upon a plan to set her up as a lady with the Judge (Guy Kibbee) as her distinguished husband. Annie gets a makeover and everything is set for the daughter's return.But the stupid cops get wind of what's happening and think there's a big swindle going on. Will the cops squash the charade? Will Annie be exposed as a fraud?Robson and William are terrific. There's also Glenda Farrell as the brassy Missouri Martin (based on Texas Guinan) who joins in to help the charade. Co-stars include Ned Sparks as Happy, Nat Pendleton, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Tiny Jones, Hobart Bosworth, Samuel S. Hinds, Walter Connolly, Halliwell Hobbes, and Barry Norton. A fairy tale to be sure, but one with a touch of reality. Director Frank Capra used several real-life panhandlers in the cast. It's also notable that Annie admits she was never married.

jarrodmcdonald-1 In a way, it's a shame May Robson didn't win an Oscar for her performance as Apple Annie in this first cinematic version of Damon Runyon's story. Robson was nominated but lost to Katharine Hepburn for MORNING GLORY. It is, without a doubt, the defining role in the actress's long and illustrious stage and film career. She spends the first half hour as a loud- mouthed street urchin who gives apples and luck to a shady character named Dave the Dude (Warren William). But when she finds out her European-based daughter is coming for a visit, she confesses to Dave and his cronies that she's been playing a charade, pretending in letters to the girl she's a high society woman who lives at a nearby posh hotel.The reason Dave decides to help Annie when the daughter soon visits is somewhat far- fetched, but it sets the stage for a miraculous transformation. Dave's girlfriend (Glenda Farrell) gives Annie an incredible makeover, while Dave lines up a nice suite for Annie and a phony husband (Guy Kibbee) to use when hosting the daughter and the daughter's soon-to- be in-laws. Personally, I felt the transformation of Annie was a bit unrealistic. I think Dave's girlfriend would have been a little more tacky and probably would have overdone the makeup on Annie. Also, I didn't buy the fact that as soon as Annie has clean skin, glamorous clothes and jewelry as well as a spectacular new hairdo that she would all of a sudden talk in softer tones with the sweetest words rolling off her tongue. Probably Annie would still be talking like a sailor and not so easily lose her crude mannerisms. But despite these contrivances, the transformation is memorable and it does enable the story to progress to the next level.In the next part, the daughter (Jean Parker) arrives, and there is an emotional reunion between mother and daughter down at the pier. This continues as they head back to the hotel. The hoax seems to be working, until we find out the prospective groom's father has suspicions about Annie and the others. There is also supposed to be a reception that brings the creme de la creme of upper crust society to Annie's suite, which forces Dave and his gang to scramble to come up with acceptable guests. Of course, we know Dave won't fail in this endeavor, and that Annie will be able to pull her deception off with her daughter's in-laws. If not, the story would not have a happy ending. And by the time the film ends, we've been treated to what is basically a nice mother-daughter story; as well as a sort of Pygmalion for the over-60 apple vending crowd.

mark.waltz This fantasy of depression life in New York was like "Gold Diggers of 1933" in its sympathy to the variety of character types who roamed the theatre district in search of a future. If Little Orphan Annie at this time was hoping for an escape from Miss Hannigan's reign of terror at the orphanage, the aged Apple Annie was hoping to find a way to bring happiness to her beautiful daughter raised in a Spanish convent and now engaged to a nobleman whose father wants to meet the mother in order to approve the match. The help of jaded gambler Warren William, crusty Ned Sparks, dipsomaniac judge Guy Kibbee and nightclub entertainer Glenda Farrell might just put the scheme of making her look like a lady (shades of "Pygmallion"), showing that at least in Runyeonland, gangsters have good hearts, especially if an apple a day brings luck at the race track.Character actress May Robson brings much heart to the down-on-her-luck Annie who longs to see her daughter at least one last time and be seen as the great lady she could have been rather than the poor street vendor she has become. Warren William escapes from the playboys and ruthless businessmen he was playing over at Warner Brothers to take on one of his most memorable roles as the good-hearted gangster (a staple in Damon Runyeon tales) while Ned Sparks gets most of the funniest lines. He delivers them with a cigar in his mouth, acid spewing and joy exploding out of every wisecrack he makes. Nat Pendleton is also amusing as the lovable dumb lug Shakespeare, Williams' right hand man.The chemistry between Robson and Guy Kibbee (pretending to be her husband) is totally charming, giving the impression that there will be a nice September romance once the story we see on screen ends. Parker is lovely as the innocent daughter, but Barry Norton and Walter Connelly seem miscast as Spanish nobility. That is a minor flaw through a film that totally engrosses you and goes straight to the heart.

Ursula 2.7T I'm no Capra fan, but here's a second movie of his (along with "The Miracle Woman") that I just loved. Maybe his pre-Codes are better than his other movies? I may have to change my mind about Capra, or at least see some more of his pre-Code movies; they're terrific! This movie was sweet and touching, without being sickening sweet or melodramatic. This movie also has lots of humor and some great dialogue. This 72-yr-old movie holds up extremely well. I was utterly charmed by this movie.The story revolves around an elderly woman, Apple Annie, who is quite poor. She sells apples for a living and sends all her money to her daughter, Louise, who lives in Spain. Annie is ashamed of her lifestyle, and she leads her daughter to believe she's a high-society lady by writing letters on the stationery of a posh hotel. Annie even has a friend on the inside of the hotel who passes Louise's letters that are sent to the hotel to Annie.One of Apple Annie's clients is "Dave the Dude", the head of a local mob. Before he does any business dealings, Dave always buys an apple from Annie for good luck.Well, not to spoil the movie too much, let me just say that Annie finds out her daughter is coming to town (New York) and she panics. Her panhandler friends talk Dave into setting Annie up in a suite at the posh hotel so that she can continue the pretense for her daughter's sake. Dave gets most of his mobster and street friends involved in one way or another -- the potential is here for great sappiness, but amazingly the story unfolds with just pure sweetness and lots of humor that has held up very well over the past 3/4-century.The performances by the lead actors were terrific. May Robson as Annie was wonderful; she gave a tender, subtle performance as the mother who loved her daughter so much, yet was so ashamed of the way she (Annie) lived. Warren William was terrific as Dave the Dude - I think his was probably the toughest role to play as he had to be a "bad guy" mob head as well as a softie who went out of his way to make Annie a lady for a day. Guy Kibbee as Annie's husband was superb, a common pool hustler who played an upper-crust gentleman. The rest of the cast were pretty good too ... I especially enjoyed the actor who played the dry and sardonic "Happy"; he had some of the best lines in the show.So, in conclusion, snappy dialogue, nice mix of drama and humor, and just the right amount of sweetness make for a wonderful pre-Code movie. If you enjoy old movies, this is a movie that you definitely won't be sorry you watched. Highly recommended.